NPD REPORTS SOFT SALES FOR U.S. APPAREL INDUSTRY IN 2000Online sales showed double-digit growthPORT WASHINGTON, NY, March 19, 2001 – The U.S. fashion industry had a modest 2% increase in apparel sales for 2000. According to leading market information provider The NPD Group, Inc., total apparel sales reached $182 billion last year compared to $180 billion the previous year. While still a small percentage of total apparel sales, online/Internet sales showed double-digit growth in 2000.
"Last year was a difficult year for the retail environment," said Kim Blanck, NPD Fashionworldsm account executive. "The slowing U.S. economy took a toll on the results of most retailers and kept a tight lid on earnings growth. Collectively, many different segments of the market posted either slim growth or no growth at all," commented Ms. Blanck. Across all channels of distribution, sales of women’s apparel outpaced total market growth, driven by strong sales in both the large size and petite markets. On the contrary, men’s apparel, the industry winner in 1999, lagged in 2000, decreasing in both dollar volume and market share. Rising in popularity, the infants’ and toddlers’ business experienced record-breaking growth from 1999 to 2000.
Cross-Channel Shopping Driven by retail consolidation and private label growth, cross-channel shopping has become commonplace for the U.S. household. It is not unusual for a mother to purchase her family’s jeans at a department store but their underwear and socks at the mass merchants. Through 2000, mass merchants, off-price retailers and specialty stores continued to experience strong sales growth from this shift in consumer spending, with department and chain stores sales feeling the impact of this trend.
For more information, please contact: Kim Blanck
About The NPD Group, Inc. The NPD Group is the leading provider of comprehensive marketing intelligence collected and delivered online for a wide range of vertical markets. By tracking both purchasing behavior and attitudes among the same consumers, NPD offers subscribers unique insight into what’s happening in their industries and why. NPD also measures both retail product movement and e-commerce for a comprehensive view of each market tracked. Consumer data are collected through the firm’s Online Panel, which has access to over 2.7 million individuals, and will be delivered through a series of marketing information portals, launching throughout the year. Markets tracked by NPD include apparel, automotive products, consumer electronics, cosmetics and fragrances, food, foodservice, footwear, housewares, information technology, interactive entertainment, toys, music and more. NPD is the developer of the revolutionary Web audience measurement technology now marketed by its successful spin-off Media Metrix, a Jupiter Media Metrix company. The firm has offices and affiliations in 36 countries, covering North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. For more information on this press release, contact Leslie Singer at (516) 625-2302, e-mail leslie_singer@npd.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||